Disk Utility Icon

Restoring files from a disk or disk image

If you back up of your essential software and files to a disk or disk image, you can use it to restore the files if you have a problem with your computer or you unintentionally delete files you meant to keep.

When you restore the files, the disk or disk image becomes the “source.” You specify where the information should be restored by selecting a “destination” disk or volume. The selected destination will receive an exact copy of the disk image contents.

You can choose to erase the destination disk and then have the disk image copied to it. Alternatively, you can choose not to erase the disk and add the disk image information to the current contents of the destination disk.

  1. In Disk Utility, click Restore.
  2. If you are using a disk image, open it.
  3. Drag the disk or disk image from the list to the Source field, or click Image and select the disk image.
  4. Drag the disk where you want to restore the contents of the disk image to the Destination field.
  5. Select the checkbox if you want to erase the destination disk or skip the checksum.
  6. When you're ready, click Restore.

If you experience errors when restoring software from a disk image, the Disk Utility log can help you understand the problem. To see the log, choose Window > Show Log.

See also

disk images